From CreativePro.com –Secrets of the Esc Key:
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If you’ll pardon the pun, the Esc key might escape the notice of many Adobe Creative Cloud users, but it’s actually a great shortcut. You might already know that the Esc key can be a shortcut for the Cancel button, but it does a few more interesting things in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator. I wrote this article as a follow-up to my earlier CreativePro article about the hidden powers of the Enter key; if you like these tips you’ll want to check out that article too. But for now, let’s uncover some of the secrets of the Esc key. Esc: Your Easy Exit Esc is short for "escape," and that’s a good way to understand when to press that key. When you’re adjusting an option and you find yourself thinking "I’m going down the wrong road…", that’s when you might want to try the Esc key. In many applications, the Esc key is a keyboard shortcut for canceling the current operation. If you see a Cancel button on the screen, chances are pressing Esc will be the same as clicking that Cancel button. Similarly, Esc is often a single-key equivalent to pressing the Command-. (Mac) or Ctrl-. (Windows) shortcut for canceling…”
